Will Smith hits Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars: "Keep my wife's name out of your fucking mouth"
The actor, awarded the award for best leading performance, slaps the comedian when he joked about the alopecia of his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith
Will Smith was called to be one of the protagonists of the 94th edition of the Oscar Awards. He single-handedly stole the show, yes, but for the wrong reasons. About 10 minutes before receiving the award for best actor for his performance in The Williams Method, an award predicted by all the pools, Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock on stage at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. And he has done it before the tens of millions of people who followed one of the star broadcasts on world television.
Rock had made a joke about the actor's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who was in the stalls with a shaved head. The comedian, known for her sharp humor, said that he saw her participating in the sequel to Lieutenant O'Neill, that 1997 film in which Demi Moore played a soldier. But Pinkett Smith's was not an aesthetic decision to shine on the big night of Hollywood, but rather she was motivated by a problem with alopecia, which she has also made a public cause of in recent times. When Smith got up from his seat and took to the stage to hit Rock with an open hand, it seemed like the moment was ripe. But then the actor has returned to his place and has shouted at the comedian: "Keep my wife's name out of your fucking mouth."
The aggression, which has automatically entered the history of the Academy Awards and has dynamited the rest of the artistic achievements of the night, has left the audience with a frozen smile, and wondering: is it possible that a veteran like Smith has lost your temper like that? And is it possible that, among all the actors, he is precisely the champion of public relations in Hollywood? Later, when he came back onstage to accept his award for best actor, Smith rehearsed a tearful apology. Not exactly with Rock, but with the Academy. “I hope you will invite me again”, he said. Later, Anthony Hopkins, summoned to award the award for best actress to Jessica Chastain, has asked for peace and love, but it was too late. The incident has blurred the success of CODA, which has won the Oscar for best picture. The case has been reminiscent of when Warren Beatty mistakenly gave La La Land the winner (instead of Moonlight) in 2017. Although it is not clear how many people will remember CODA in a few years, it is certain that what happened will remain in the memory of movie fans.
At first, hearing the joke, Smith laughed, while his wife, sitting next to him, put on a disgusted face. Then came the violence and the phrase, now famous: "Keep my wife's name out of your fucking mouth!". He has said it twice ("Keep my wife's name out of your fucking mouth"). The fact that he used a prohibited term on American television has set off all the alarms. A scripted scene would never include a swear word like fucking, which ABC has removed from broadcast in the United States. An hour later, the Hollywood Academy, without mentioning the incident, has published on its social networks that "it does not condone violence of any kind."
During the next commercial break, Will Smith's PR has come over to talk to him. Meanwhile, in the press room, to which the actor has not gone after collecting his award (he has not been seen at the subsequent cocktail party either), journalists were asked not to ask about the incident, reports Luis Pablo Beauregard . The next presenter, the rapper Sean Diddy Combs, has tried to mediate: “Will and Chris: we are going to solve this as a family. Right now we are going to move forward with love.”
When Smith went up to collect the award for best leading actor, he declared: "Richard Williams [the controversial real character he plays, father of the tennis players Venus and Serena Williams, who were present at the gala] was a staunch defender of his family. At this point in my life, I am overwhelmed by what God is asking me to do and be.” He has also talked about supporting his co-stars: “I have been called to protect my people, to be a river for my people. To be in show business you have to put up with insults.”
Smith has explained that Denzel Washington, who has also approached him during a break, has given him some advice: “Be careful in your best moments. That's when the devil comes for you." Later, Smith has continued: “I want to be an ambassador of love. I want to apologize to the Academy, and to the rest of the nominees. It is a precious moment; my tears are not for winning the Oscar, but for shedding light on the entire cast of The Williams Method. Art imitates life, and I have seemed like the crazy father. Love makes you do incredible things.” To finish, he has joked about his mother, who has not accompanied him to the ceremony because she had "an appointment with her crochet group".
During the commercial break, Will Smith is pulled aside and comforted by Denzel Washington and Tyler Perry, who motion for him to brush it off. Will appears to wipe tears from his eyes as he sits back down with Jada, with Denzel comforting Jada and Will’s rep by his side. pic.twitter.com/uDGVnWrSS2
— Scott Feinberg (@ScottFeinberg) March 28, 2022
After the gala, in which Dune has won six awards and there has been time for tributes to The Godfather, Pulp Fiction or Cabaret, the Los Angeles Police Department has issued a statement clarifying that Chris Rock was not going to present no complaint for the assault: "We have learned of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards gala," the text said. “The incident has involved one individual slapping another. The victim has refused to file a complaint. If he wishes to report later, the Los Angeles police will be available to launch an investigation.”
On December 28, Pinkett Smith spoke about her alopecia problems on her social media. She confessed that she was going to shave her head and that she was going to face the disease with good humor: "This alopecia and I are going to be friends... period!"
